are public schools and public education and making sure we empower teachers. [indiscernible] to make sure we enact sensible policies in our country. >> right now, people rp a check to paycheck and housing is -- people are living paycheck-to-paycheck and housing is the most important issue for me. [indiscernible] >> c-span voices 2024. be part of the conversation. the democratic national convention continues in chicago. it is day three and our live coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. stern with a preview of the

nights events and your calls, followed by the convention at 6:30 eastern, and more cad reactions at 11:00. t, pete buttigieg, nancy si, bill clinton and minnesota governor tim walls officially accepting the vice esidential nomination. you can also watch on the free c-span now video app or online at c-span.org. ngton journal continues. host: a shot of chicago courtesy of pru, the location of our studio while c-span covers the democratic national convention. we thank them for the access to the building. joining us, former senator heidi heitkamp, the foreigner senator from south -- from north dakota and the founder of the one country product -- project, thank you for giving us your time. guest: thank you for having me on and focusing on what is happening in rural america.

host: when you say that, what role do they play this year. guest: huge. you have had me on before and i say the same thing over and over. if democrats could learn to do 5% across-the-board they would not have trouble winning pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, iowa, indiana and north carolina. rural america really does not -- it votes more like a voting block. it is pretty red, but it does not have to be. do a lot of work exposing what those rural issues are and exposing what the solutions could be that you can talk about. do we think that we will win back rural america in one or two cycles. no, we did not lose it in one or two cycles. what we are trying to do is introduce the democratic party

to rural mayor cava and to their priorities. host: do you think that this cycle, the selection of tim walz is a spec for -- a step forward in winning back the rural voters? guest: absolutely. it is -- it has escaped no one's notice that i am a huge tim walz fan. he is our next-door neighbor and governor in desoto. he is just as comfortable coming into minnesota and coming into north cota and talking about issues that act us on the border. tim walz is of world america. in some ways i think with the selection of jd vance i think that was a nod and the republican party to someone who grew up in a rural part of the country who may be could persuade people to vote but

everybody forgot that jd vance left rural america to go off to college and guess what, he has -- tim walz has lived in rural america his entire life. people who say that he has a west coast liberal, his first trip to san francisco was a couple of weeks ago. and so, we know tim and that he knows rural america. so when rural america says the democratic party does not see yes or no us to say wait a minute you have someone who could be in the white house who knows what these issues are and knows what rural communities need and understands the need for infrastructure, that are housing and the challenges of delivering health care. he also knows we need a farm bill. i am very excited and i believe that tim can be that difference in the margin. if he could persuade even 5% of rural america to vote

differently, i think kamala harris and tim walz will be in the white house come january. host: you are familiar with the work of "the washington examiner" who looked at tim walz and wrote starting by saying " ste carnegie pointed out the calculatio that walz admiral style and ilit a therefore booster with rural voteichin but there is a big cch. he was not able toat i his own state. in short, the ele rsion of whom they think the rural te would support is disputed by the results. it was because he had a connection with metropolitan areas and not a tangible and effective connection to voters." how would you respond? guest: watch them at a state fair or a farm meeting. she is right, he will not persuade the vast majority of rural america to switch but there are so many people sitting

on the fence right now who do not see any candidacy that will affect their lives or a candidate that looks like them. those are the voters that we hope that tim can persuade. and i think they are being overly pessimistic. i think he will generate enthusiasm. you saw that tumor brass cap. he went to a rural part of nebraska and drew a mammoth route and why is that? because all of a sudden on a national stage people and places like i did said i know that guy. i might not always agree with him. but he was like every high school teacher or coach i had. he was a guy you would call if you had a flat tire and you needed help or your mom needed help shoveling a sidewalk in a snowstorm. character counts, not just issues. the other thing that i find a little disturbing, maybe or

perturbing is that when they talk about these issues and say look at these liberal issues like paid family leave or daycare warehousing -- or housing. these are just big liberal ideas. guess what? in rural america the are disproportionately unable to take time off to raise a child, to have some time with our kids when they are first born. we are disproportionately unable to take time off to take care of basic parent. we have to quit jobs. and a system that provides that kind of support and recognizes the challenges of providing daycare and the challenges of delivering rural health care, i do not think those are liberal issues, those are family-friendly issues. once he starts talking about them, a lot of people will be persuaded. host: heidi heitkamp of the one

calling -- one country project. she served in congress for notes to cota. if you want to help -- if you want to ask questions, 202-748-8000 for republican -- for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. independents, 202-748-8001 -- 202-748-8002. and you can text us at 202-748-8003. what is the specific message that should be delivered. she talked about an economic plan but where should she go from there? guest: i think that the vice president needs to send tim walz in a bus going to every county fair and the state fair in the battleground state of michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin. he talks like he is from wisconsin and they know him well because he has come from a border state. and so i think that we will not see those two together as much after this convention is over.

that makes great sense. you can also be very persuaded or very persuasive in states like rural arizona and rural georgia and north carolina. some states that she has opened up. tim walz is a unique talent. and he has a unique politician because what you see is what you get. that is what we will see tonight. he is who he is and that authenticity which is frequently missing in politicians, i think he exudes authenticity and i like to say, tim walz knows how to

>> the last chair we voted for was a democrat running and i voted for him and i have a trump flag in my front yard. i didn't care he was a democrat, i like him. it didn't change my party affiliation. we don't want the chaos we see

on tv from chicago, san francisco. rural neighborhoods are clean. you go to the store there is no wokeness. you say good morning. host: got your point, from lancaster, virginia. guest: he is right, and that voter, what you heard from him that i think tim walz will appeal to. the one thing i would say, and this is more from a political pundit standpoint, the split ticket voter, someone who would vote for trump and then go down ballot and vote for a democrat for senate. when i ran for 2012, i was 22 points better than barack obama. i still won the senate seat because romney voters were willing to cross over and vote for me and a lot of those were in rural north dakota.

that has changed as our politics has become more nationalized and that's the trend we are trying to fight. i'm not trying to tell people how to vote, i'm trying to tell people, make sure you have a choice. when rural america becomes a voting block for just one political party, it won't get the attention it deserves. a great example right now, we don't have a farm bill. we are two years into an extension pretty much of the old farm bill and we need that certainty. we are not getting that out of washington. who can deliver it? that should be the question we are asking, not what is your political affiliation but what are you going to do? don't talk nonsense. i agree with him, i think a lot of the reason democrats have lost rural america is the idea that you can't say good morning, honey or hi dear.

that hyper political correctness is not who we are, i say we give each other grace, we don't assume the worst when someone says something that could arguably be offensive. i think that's what tim walz is. i don't think he's anything other than what you will see tonight and on the campaign trail. host: dallas, texas, democrat line. caller: good morning, i have to agree with miss heidi into the other color. i live in texas and we have a lot of rural areas and a lot of people are not communicating with them. they are in the rural areas as well they get along just one big happy family. they are not concerned with one -- what party, they are focused on the farm bill and all of

that. we want someone in a president who can unite us, fight for us, and help all of us. i do believe they need to go out to the rural areas because they are often forgotten about, just like the low income areas all over the united states. >> i will go on that last point when she says they are forgotten. would you agree with that? >> absolutely. in north dakota, part of our rural makeup, the entire state with the exception of rural areas -- urban areas are pretty rural. this idea that rural america looks a certain way is

absolutely wrong. i used to talk about this when i was in the senate. not trying to say rural america is better or worse, but look, in every coffee shop in rural america, guys sit around the table sometimes they invite one of the wives to come in, and they talk about politics and they argue and then they sit around and figure out, we need to get the christmas decorations up on main street. we need to figure out how to get new uniforms for the football team. they figure out how to solve their problems and they put community on their forehead. that is the value we need to get in this country. we can disagree about what we do with policy, but we have got to start uniting ourselves in common cause toward improving the lives of americans, making us one country.

it's interesting because i get some questions on why i named my project one country project, because that is what we are. rural america wants good health care, good education, opportunity for their kids to do better than they are, safety, protection, what rural america wants is what urban america wants. the politicians have somehow figured out how to divide us urban/rural, when our goals are the same. not always the same solutions. it is a little tougher to get the ambulance out in five minutes in rural america, but they want the same things for their family. let's quit dividing based on many factors, especially urban/rural. >> you highlighted the challenges. if you take a look at the 2020 campaign, pew tells us that 65% of rural voters voted for former

president trump versus president biden. how much do you think those numbers might change this time around? >> i'm hoping they will change. if we can just do 60% to 40%, that will be a lot of votes for the democratic ticket. that is doable. the other thing i say is when i'm in rural america and i will tell you this, i have traveled all around in the last couple of months, and when i did that in 2016 and when i did it in 2020, i would walk into audiences where about a third of the folks were wearing red hats, you know what i mean when i say that. i was in rural minnesota and i think i saw two or three in a crowd of about 5000. i think people are more open to listening to an alternative.

swing voters in rural america, democratic voters felt like their vote didn't matter, they will be enthusiastically supporting tim walz and kamala harris and you saw that in nebraska. turning out a crowd like that in rural nebraska i think that was a signal that that is what we are going to be doing. maybe it doesn't work out, but we have to start somewhere and with the selection of tim walz, it is a message that we hear you. there will be someone sitting at the table of power in washington, d.c., that comes from our life experience, whether that is hunting and fishing, whether that is a schoolteacher in a rural community, whether that is somebody who serves 24 years in the national guard, who understands the needs of the men and women he commanded. it is just a really compelling story i think and at least it is an introduction, an opportunity

to reintroduce the democratic party in rural america. >> senator heidi heitkamp joining us, the founder of the one country project. republican line in new jersey, you are next up. hello. akiva in new jersey, hello? ok, let's hear from earl in idaho, independent line. >> morning. i've got a small family farm here i operate. it is a struggle it is a struggle to invest when we have a country skating on thin ice because of the deficit we are in. it is hard to get up every morning and go to work and invest in our rural community.

>> in idaho? >> yes, and these are the struggles that we should be listening to. what it is like to pay a lot of money for gas when you have to drive 30, 40 miles. urban america say, i commute, but you have an alternative. at the democratic convention, we have a rural caucus. when we have done this the last three cycles, the room feels pretty sparse. the room was packed yesterday with rural democrats ready to go to work and listen to the challenges and provide an opportunity and solutions. they aren't all going to be the same solutions you need for urban america.

we have to figure out how we help make our kids stay in rural america so that we can see a future. if you don't have young people, you don't have a future. one thing i have been talking about here is access to rural health care. if you are a pregnant woman, and parts of north dakota to deliver a baby, you have to drive 100 miles to a hospital that will deliver and a lot of are critical access hospitals no longer provide delivery care. these are the things happening in rural america that will spiral our opportunity to grow rural america and make rural america part of the kind of economic recovery it needs to be to have a healthy america. so, these are to democrat or republican solutions. we need to figure out what they are. one of the questions i got was

on emergency medical services. if you are in rural america and a rural ambulance comes, it will be staffed with volunteers, those volunteers are aging and not getting replaced. are you going to wait an hour or are we going to figure out some way to make sure your health care is provided in rural america. these are challenges tim walz knows very well, challenges i know kamala, i have known her since she was the attorney general of california, she is always curious about what is happening and what needs to change. making sure those voices are bipartisan for rural america where be critical. >> when it comes to the topic of reproductive rights, how do you think that plays out for the

average voter in your rural america? >> when i look at for many voters we have lost over the last 20 years, and a lot of it has been because they have turned into single issue voters. for lack of a better word, they are more pro-life. they have said, i used to vote democrat, this issue i really care about, i'm going to vote republican because republicans want to eliminate abortion in our country. that is fine and that has been part of the fabric of the transition in rural america, but one thing all of these ballot measures have taught us is there are a lot of pro-choice voters in rural america who were not voting on that issue because that right was guaranteed by roe. now when the pro-choice voters here that this could be taken away, we see things like what

happened in kansas. people were shocked at the ballot measure in kansas did as well in rural kansas as what it did. there are a lot of folks who are deeply concerned about reproductive rights. you have seen in idaho, a lot of ob/gyn's leaving the state or not wanting to practice in idaho because they don't believe they can provide quality health care. the other thing you are finding out with the stories coming out is that this is an incredibly complicated personal, private issue. people mind your own business, it speaks to those voters who don't want people telling them what to do. that is the independent voter that the harris-walls ticket

will appeal to. >> [indiscernible] [indiscernible] talking about the vice president, mr. walz, i think he is terrific. i grew up in rural indiana. i really appreciated it. the trump and jd vance, that's going to really be crazy, i tell you what. thank you. >> if i could just mention that i think it is interesting because now that walz is a candidate, once again you have to file a financial disclosure

and these are available to anyone. people have been putting his financial disclosure, which it looks like a lot of people i grew up with. they maybe have a pension from teaching school, they have a 401(k) that is putting away some money for retirement, but they don't have a lot of assets. you put that next to jd vance, who literally if you believe as i do that he was selected because he has big friends, big republican donor friends in silicon valley, he is a venture capitalist. i think just put them side-by-side. here is a guy who has spent his whole life in service, tim walz. he didn't make a lot of money, but he made a living. >> welcome to the democratic governors association women governors fund panel with our historic eight women governors. [applause]